Perks of Nobility

Outside was a massive amount of people gathered around Ritzy and the now unconscious Alto. Ritzy had just kicked Alto to the floor and Alto stopped moving. The people around were quiet, they were left awestruck with the move Ritzy pulled.

Ritzy didn't care about the onlookers, he knew that people would want to watch the duel so he pretended to treat this series of events as nothing. He tried to act like a noble of his stature. One that sees the fall of another noble as nothing, especially one that is lower class than himself.

Ritzy started adjusting his clothes and looked out in the distance to look superior. He then said,

"If you're still awake, listen to my words. It might save you from many problems in the future".

"One should never try to defy their superiors, especially if the superior is the son of an extremely high ranking noble and as well someone who can defeat you easily. If you have chosen to fight someone else, you most likely wouldn't have come out with just some bumps and bruises. Even being left cripple might be too kind for you".

Saying those words nonchalantly as if they held no mean, Ritzy left.

After Ritzy left, people began conversing deeply on who Ritzy was. They were wondered where he came from, who was his father, and strong was he.

On the other hand, the ones who weren't talking were either celebrating or weeping because of the bets they placed earlier. The winner quickly ran to the bookies and demanded their winnings, the losers were either motionless or leaving furiously the area.

...

Ritzy headed back to camp, he didn't want to cause any more of a ruckus and the time to leave was approaching.

Once he arrived at the camp, the servant who came for him yesterday was there talking with Junger and Alter. Not knowing why the servant was here, he approached the servant.

As Ritzy was coming closer, the servant noticed Ritzy. Seeing him, he quickly came to Ritzy and said,

"Lord Ritzy, please follow me to Lord Skira. He will be giving a pep talk to the captains of the machinery division so naturally, you must be there to ascertain your position to the soldiers. It's best we gon now so we don't keep Skira waiting".

Ritzy,

"Understood, please lead the way".

The servant than lead the way to where Skira was. At the same time, Junger and Alter followed.

After a while of following the servant, he arrived at an open plot with no tents but filled with people and a single stage. Nearby the stage was Skira and a couple of knights. The servant kept showing him the way until they arrived at Skira.

Skira noticed that Ritzy arrived so he approached him and said,

"Little Ritzy, you finally arrived. Now that you are here, all the procedures are in order, so follow me to the stage".

Skira and Ritzy went up in the stage and some knights followed. Skira took the middle of the stage, Ritzy was on Skira's back right, a knight with a big build was on Skira's left, and the rest of the knights were behind them forming a horizontal line.

The soldiers nearby quickly quieted down. Normally, not much elegance would be shown in a pep talk to the soldiers but this was the machinery division so they had a high level in the army. They were all valuable people in war and unlike the physical soldiers. They fought with their wits and skill. They either knew how to transport, use, or maintain the machinery. Naturally, they would be the most respectable and classy of the bunch so the customs of war had to be done diligently with them.

Unlike normal soldiers who only focused on violence and killing to become famous and rich, these men were people who valued prestige. They found pride in being unitary, being educated, using etiquette, and having wisdom. They would find value in having a uniform, badges, or anything that signified prestige, so when Skira who was a high ranking noble appeared. They all quickly quieted down and showed respect.

Skira was filled with arrogance and pride with the sight of seeing the soldiers under him being so courteous and well mannered. He wanted to leap with joy because he knew that by him being in control of the machinery division. His future would be filled with accomplishments, fame, and wealth.

Skira then cleared his throat and yelled.

"I Skira the sole heir of the Cinghaile family, has become your new general. I may look young but I am the most qualified for this position so I expect you all to listen to my every word".

Skira then slightly turned to his right and pointed to Ritzy.

"The man on my right is Ritzy of the Reds family, he is my vice-captain and his word is above yours but still under mine!".

Skira then turned to his left and pointed to the big build knight.

"This man on my left is Grande and he is my prized knight plus bodyguard. His word holds the third most amount of power of everyone in this division".

Skira then looked forward and cleared his throat again.

"That is all. If there is anything you don't understand, I will be happy to clarify. On that note, we will be departing in ten minutes to Selma city to liberate the noble prisoners and take revenge on the atrocities they have done to our people. You may all now leave".

Ritzy was left completely and utterly flabbergasted. He had no words to say because he had no idea where to start complaining.

Ritzy's mind,

'What in the world was that sorry excuse for a pep talk and introduction!?! There were no motivational thing mentioned or even a motivational word at all. There was no pep in the pep talk. It was all facts and no incentive to bring the people's emotions out for battle. He just kept stating what was the situation and what was the pecking order. It was closer to a list than a speech'.

'What was even more horrible was how he introduced him and Grande. He had no idea what Grande was good at other than being a knight. Was he an intelligent man, a meathead with great strength, or a person with great wisdom? There was no information on Grande other than his position in the war, his name, and that his genes probably made him big. Even my introduction wasn't that great, they just know how I look, my nobility rank, and my position in this war. This is the definition of 'This could all be said in a single email''.

Skira then walked off the stage filled with pride and every step he took was filled with confidence. As he was getting off the stage, the knights followed as well and the spectators clapped. This cause Ritzy to become speechless and walked off stage as well because he had no idea what to do.

Ritzy's mind,

'How can you guys just walk off the stage like that. Especially you Skira, filled with pride and arrogance? Could this be normal or just spoiled brat thought process? I really can't tell. It was so idiotic but the people here seem to still clap. I don't know if this is just the soldiers being nice or if it truly was an adequate pep talk'.

One they were off stage, Skira came to Ritzy and said,

"Now that the introductions are over, we should start getting ready to leave. Since you are my vice-captain, bring your men and we'll travel together. It would seem weird if we aren't the ones leading the way for our division".

Ritzy was still a bit hazed from what happened earlier but quickly came back to reality.

"Of course Skira, I will bring my men and carriage right over. Well then, I bid you a temporary farewell".

Skira,

"I as well".

Ritzy then quickly left the area and head straight for the camp with Alter and Junger following him. Once they arrived at the camp, Ritzy told Alter what Skira ordered him to do. Once he finished retelling his orders, he went into the carriage to rest.

Ritzy wasn't particularly tired but his mind was filled with unanswered questions. He found the situation before rather peculiar since he never seen such a horrible speech given before and then given a round of applause. He wanted to recall his memories if anything similar had happened in his past because he could not find any reason in why this has occurred.

Ritzy's mind was filled with many scenarios but he couldn't find and exact answer. Feeling unsatisfied, he just told himself it was because of Skira's noble standing, and that was the only reason why they clapped. With that excuse now in his mind, he started to rest easy but then he started thinking.

'What is the extent of power a noble holds, and how much power is there in each noble class?'